You have…harnessed your rivers…electrified your farms: JFK, 1963

In his Dáil address on 28 June 1963, President John F Kennedy spoke about the Ireland’s place on the world stage, and its great ties with the American people. He also acknowledged the part that electrical development played in the economic and social progress of Ireland.

The cover of the August issue of ESB’s marking magazine, Prospect, featured an image of the President, noting that he was an avid supporter of both rural electrification and hydroelectric power development in his own country.

… the Ireland of 1963, one of the youngest of nations, and the oldest of civilisations, has discovered that the achievement of nationhood is not an end, but a beginning. In the years since independence, you have undergone a new and peaceful revolution, an economic and industrial revolution, transforming the face of this land, while still holding to the old spiritual and cultural values. You have modernised your economy, harnessed your rivers, diversified your industry, liberalised your trade, electrified your farms, accelerated your rate of growth, and improved the living standard of your people

President Kennedy’s full Dáil speech is available on oireachtas.ie.
He was assassinated five months later, on 22 November 1963.